A background of relevant information may be gained from a review of the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 4,418,843; 4,603,794; 4,972,977; 5,129,550; 5,289,948; 5,558,257; and 5,638,994.
A window cleaner spray bottle is an example of the kind of spray bottles which the present invention addresses. Hard surface sprayers, hair and cosmetic sprayers, and pesticide sprayers are additional examples of applications addressed by this invention.
Conventional spray bottles such as these, however, have numerous parts and are relatively expensive to manufacture and assemble. In fact, the spray mechanisms of these bottles often cost more than the product contained within the bottle. Also, the spray bottles are usually relatively complicated, so that many small parts must be handled and assembled during manufacture. For example, many spray mechanisms include piston-style pumps, trigger handles, tubes, and nozzles enabling variable spray configurations. Moreover, because some probability of failure during operation exists for each part, there are almost certainly a higher than necessary number of faulty bottles.
Another problem associated with conventional spray bottles is that some of the product is wasted. For example, a conventional window cleaner spray bottle contains a tube in the center of the bottle for drawing liquid up and into the spray mechanism. The tube stops short of the bottom of the bottle so that the bottom does not block liquid from flowing into the tube. Thus, when the bottle is almost empty, any liquid below the tube will remain in the bottle. Also, if more than the desired amount of product may be sprayed upon each application, there is a resulting waste, because neither the volume of the product to be delivered nor the duration of the spray can be easily controlled.
An additional important consideration is the spray bottle's be ease of use. Many people, especially the elderly and people with arthritic hands, may have difficulty manipulating conventional trigger sprayers. A significant force is required to depress the trigger of some spray bottles. Thus, it is desirable to provide a spray bottle with a trigger that may either be finger-driven or palm-driven and which achieves many available pounds per square inch (PSI) for spraying the liquid. It would also be desirable if the trigger included a finger grip configuration to insure proper placement of the user's hand, to improve user comfort, and to make the trigger easier to hold and squeeze.
Another consideration with respect to the ease of use involves large capacity sprayers. Large capacity sprayers, such as those currently used in the garden industry, require two hands. The large bottle or container must be carried in one hand, while the sprayer is held in the other. A large capacity spray bottle that can be held in one hand and be either finger-driven or palm-driven would be significantly less cumbersome and more efficient to use.
With the increasing emphasis that is being placed on environmental issues, the ability to refill the spray bottle with more product rather than to dispose of the empty bottle is extremely important. However, because many users may prefer to purchase a new bottle instead, spray bottles should be made of a recyclable material.
Yet another consideration is the cost of manufacturing such a spray bottle. Here, the considerations are directed to lowering a the cost of molds, and further reducing the cost of assembly and of spray bottle parts, such as the cap. However, these cost reductions must not reduce the reliability and serviceability of the spray bottle. For example, it should become easier to fill the bottle. Fewer squeezes should be required to expel the fluid. The spray should be atomized.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,994 (Libit et al.) discloses a spray or dispensing bottle with an integrally molded pump spaced apart from the rest of the bottle to permit liquid to be dispensed through the neck and sprayed out the top of the bottle. This bottle design routes the liquid through the neck of the bottle both during filling and dispensing. That is, when the bottle is being filled, the cap covering the neck of the bottle must be removed. Because the siphon tube which dispenses the liquid also extends through the neck and through the cap to the nozzle, the cap requires considerable engineering and cost to permit easy removal and reattachment to ensure that liquid flows as intended during both filling and dispensing. For example, the cap includes a ball valve and the associated tubes, which require more assembly steps than a simple screw-on or hinged cap would require.
Also, this bottle design directs dispensed liquid out through a nozzle in a direction approximately 90 degrees from the vertical. That increases the difficulty of spraying some very high and very low surfaces because the bottle must be tilted by the user to direct the nozzle. This tilting, in turn, may make spraying an awkward, uncomfortable task, and when the fluid level in the bottle is very low, the tilt may prevent liquid from reaching the siphon tube and nozzle.
The molded bottle with trigger bulb pump of the present invention offers improvements to the bottle shown in the Libit et al. patent.